


Driving Lesson

by Aravis_Bryir



Series: California One-Shots [8]
Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid
Genre: Autistic Hannah Foster, Driving, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:35:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24214552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aravis_Bryir/pseuds/Aravis_Bryir
Summary: "Okay, so first you need to start the car.""Yeah, no shit, Sherlock."
Relationships: Hannah Foster & Ethan Green, Hannah Foster & Lex Foster, Lex Foster & Ethan Green, Lex Foster/Ethan Green
Series: California One-Shots [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1736671
Comments: 2
Kudos: 29





	Driving Lesson

**Author's Note:**

> For reference I have no idea how cars or getting your driver's licence works in America. All the car and driving stuff is based off of my car and Australian driver's licence stuff.

“Ethan, can you teach me to drive?” Lex asks as they lie in bed on Saturday morning.

“What was that, babe? I was sleeping, like you’re meant to do for as long as possible when you have a day off before a small child comes and jumps on you.” He said with his eyes closed, pulling   
Lex closer to him, burying his face in her hair.

“I said, can you teach me how to drive?” Lex had never learnt how to drive back in Hatchetfield. Sure, she’d done the mandatory road ready class when she was in year 10, but couldn’t afford actual lessons or the test and there was no way her mu was going to teach her. Plus, she never really needed to know how, everywhere she could walk or once Ethan had his P’s he could drive her. But now they were in California and places were further apart and she felt bad making Ethan drop her off at work everyday. 

“You wanna learn how to drive?”

“Yes, that’s why I asked.”

“Sure, babe, just let me sleep before Hannah comes in.” He hadn’t opened his eyes the entire time, still trying to get as much of his precious sleep as he could. Right on cue Hannah comes in the door, jumps onto the bed and wriggles her way in between Ethan and Lex.

“Saturday today.” She says, making herself comfortable.

“Means we get to sleep in, Banana.” Ethan mumbles pulling the blanket up over the three of them. Hannah, whose head was lower down on the bed than Ethan and Lex’s is completely covered by the blanket and starts giggling while trying to squirm her way up. 

“Saturday means pancakes please.” She says once she manages to get her head above the covers.

“Patience, Banana.” He tries to push her back under.

“Come one, Hannah, let’s leave Ethan to his beauty rest, he needs all the help he can get.” Lex says, climbing out of bed.

“Hey!”

“Love you, babe.”

“Whatever.”

She laughs before turning to Hannah. “I’ll make you some pancakes.”

“No thanks. Want Ethan pancakes.” Hannah begins to try and push Ethan out of bed.

“What’s wrong with my pancakes?”

“Ethan puts chocolate in pancakes.”

“Chocolate isn’t good for you, Banana.” Lex turns to give Ethan a look. “And Ethan should know not to put it in the pancakes.”

“It makes them taste better.” He says, holding his hands up in defence.

“Well, if Hannah ends up with a million cavities, you’ll be the one paying for the dentist.”

“No dentist. I brush my teeth.” Hannah gives Lex a big grin so she can see all her teeth, before returning to try and get Ethan out of bed. “Ethan, pancake time.”

“It’s sleep time, Banana.” He says grabbing her and holding her against him while he pulls the blankets back over them so she’s completely covered.

“Pancake time.” The blankets muffle her voice. After a minute or so, Ethan gives up trying to hold Hannah and allows her to free herself of the covers.

“Alright, pancake time.” He concedes. 

“Yay!” Hannah jumps off the bed and runs into the kitchen.

Ethan groans as he gets up. At the sight of his bedhead, Lex begins to laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“You’re beauty rest didn’t do much for your hair.” She goes over to him and smooths out the unruly curls.

“Who needs beauty rest when I’ve got you.” He grins at her.

“Okay, that was super cheesy.” She moves her hands from his hair to his shoulders.

“I know you secretly love it.” He gives her a long and lingering kiss, only broken by Hannah calling from the kitchen.

“Ethan. Pancakes!”

“If you’ll excuse me it appears I have been summoned.” He gives Lex one last peck before going to the kitchen to begin making pancakes.

* * *

That afternoon they found themselves in an empty car park. Hannah was playing on a near by playground while Ethan began to give Lex the basics of driving.

“Okay, so you’ve got three pedals; the clutch, brake and accelerator.”

“Babe, I know about the pedals.”

“Right. So at the steering wheel you’ve got two sticks either side, the one on the right is the indicator and the one on the left controls the windscreen wipers. Oh, the right one also does headlights. Any questions?” He asked.

“I know what the different buttons and levers do, babe, I did the road ready course at school. I just want to know how to get the car to move.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot you did that. Sorry, I just want to make sure you know everything. Okay, so first you need to start the car.”

“Yeah, no shit, Sherlock.”

“To start the car,” Ethan continues, ignoring her remark. “Put you right foot on the brake and left foot on the clutch, make sure it’s in all the way, then turn the key.”

Lex followed his instructions and the car hummed to life.

“Now for going forwards, make sure that the car is in first.”

She looks at the gear stick in the centre console of the car, pushing it into first.

“You’re gonna have to memorise where all the gears are, babe, ‘cause you can’t look at them and drive at the same time.” 

“I know, just keep going with the lesson.”

“Yeah, so, to move forwards you want to take your foot off the brake while slowly releasing the clutch, once it’s about halfway out gently press on the accelerator.”

“Okay.” Lex tries to copy his instructions as best she can, removing her foot from the brake and taking out the clutch while pressing on the accelerator. The car gives a lurch before the engine dies. 

“Okay, you stalled. I would have been surprised if you didn’t honestly. Turn the engine back on and start again.”

Lex turns the key and tries again, this time the car rolled forwards a little before coming to a shuddering halt. “How do you do this so easily?”

“Practice, babe. You’re doing great for a first lesson though, and this is probably the hardest part of driving.” He gives her an encouraging smile and a kiss on the cheek. “Try it again.”

Once more, Lex restarts the car and attempts to accelerate, resulting in a third stall. “Why don’t you own a normal car that doesn’t have gears or clutches?” She was starting to get a bit frustrated. She’d only seen Ethan stall a handful of times and he’d always been able to quickly restart and accelerate off afterwards.

“That would take all the fun out of driving. Plus manuals are cheaper to buy for the most part. Try starting again.”

Lex grumbles a bit, half regretting her choice to learn how to drive. She turns the engine back on and tries a fourth time to move the car forwards. To her surprise she doesn’t stall instantly and begins to roll across the car park.

“Yes, babe!” Ethan cheers. “Put a bit more pressure on the accelerator.”

She does so and the car moves a bit faster.

“Now take your foot off the accelerator and put the clutch back in and change to second.”

Lex does so, though her attempt to change gears results in a horrible grinding noise. She takes her foot of the pedal, panicked by the noise. “What did I do!”

“You gotta put the clutch in further.”

“Oh.” She pushes the clutch to the floor and is able to change gears. She goes to accelerate again but there’s a whirring noise and the car doesn’t gain speed.

“Foot off the clutch.”

She takes her foot off and they begin to move faster, heading towards the end of the car park.

“Now to turn you’ll need to take your foot off the accelerator to go into the turn and put it back on when you’re coming out of it.” He instructs.

Lex felt like she was starting to get the hang of it, doing the turn fairly well for a beginner, only just missing the curb.

“Okay, now bring the car to a stop.”

She takes her foot off the accelerator and onto the brake. As the car slows it begins to shudder.

“Clutch.”

Her foot sinks onto the clutch, while still pressing the brake. They come to a rather jerky and sudden stop, but the car hadn’t stalled, so Lex called it a win.

“Nice work, babe.” Ethan gives her another kiss on the cheek. “You’ll be driving the streets of California in no time.”

“All thanks to my amazing teacher.” She smiles at him, leaning over the centre console to give him a proper kiss.

They break apart. “Do you want to keep going or call it a day?” He asks.

Before Lex can answer they spot Hannah calling to them from the playground.

“Looks like we’re calling it a day.”

“It appears so.” Lex takes the key out of the ignition and undoes to seatbelt.

“Don’t forget the handbrake.” 

“Oh, right.” She pulls up the handbrake until it clicks into place before getting out of the car. The two of them walk over to Hannah who is sitting on top of the monkey bars. “What’s up, Banana?”

“Too high.” She says, holding onto the side bar, so as not to fall.

“You climbed all the way up there and now it’s too high for you to get down, is that it?” Lex asks, patting her sister’s knee.  
Hannah nods.

“Ethan, I think this is your department.” Lex steps away allowing Ethan access to Hannah.

“Don’t worry, Banana, I’ll get you down.” He grabs Hannah under the armpits and lifts her down off the monkey bars.

“Thanks, Ethan.” She gives him a hug before taking his hand. “Home now?”

“Yeah I think so. You wanna drive, Lex?”

“Ah, no, I think I’ll leave that to you for a bit longer. I don’t think the streets are quite ready for me yet.”

“Fair enough.” He says taking the keys from her and putting his arm across her shoulders as the three of them walk back to the car. “What do you girls think we should have for dinner?”

“Pancakes!” Hannah says immediately.

“We had pancakes for breakfast, Banana.” Lex says. “I don’t mind what we have. Do you have anything in mind, babe?”

“We could get some Chinese takeout, to celebrate your first driving lesson.”

She laughs. “Sure, but you can’t get us takeout after each lesson, got it?”

“Got it, so every other lesson then?”

“Fine, whatever.”

“Yes! You hear that, Banana, I gotta give your sister lessons everyday so we can have heaps of takeout.”

“Yay!” Hannah chimes in, skipping slightly over to the backseat of the car. They all get into the car and start heading back towards their apartment.

“All in all a successful day, I think.” Ethan says as they pull out onto the main highway. “You learnt how to drive, Hannah found out she can’t get down from monkey bars on her own, and I was able to scam my way into having more junk for dinner. It was a win-win.”

Lex shakes her head at him. “All the crap you eat is gonna catch up to you one day.”

“Yeah, so best enjoy it while I can.”

“Dumbass.”

“Whatever, you love it.”

“I mean I guess.”

“You guess? Did I not just spend my Saturday afternoon teaching you to drive?”

“Fine. I love that you’re an idiot clogging up your arteries.”

“And?”

“I love you, clogged arteries and all.” She smiled over at him.

“I love you too, babe. Even with your nice clear arteries.”

She laughs as the continue the drive home.


End file.
